As they finished their study session and went their separate ways, it was now Shane and Alicia alone as they walked to pick Mona up from school.

  “That was too much information to take in at once. I don’t know if I’ll be able to pass the test we have on Monday.”

  “You'd better pass, or else you just wasted Elena's and mine time by having us try to teach the basics that you should already have known about.”

  As Alicia looked at Shane, her face grew concerned. She knew when Shane had something serious on his mind because, with the amount of time they spent together, she considered him more like a brother.

  “Hey, Shane, you alright? You just seem like you've got something on your mind.”

  Does she know about the sudden time stop that happened when we were studying together? Is her father involved with the disappearance of my father? I can’t say anything that gives away what I told. I need to talk to her father the first chance I get. Thought of Shane as he wondered how he should respond to Alicia's questions.

  “Yeah, I’m alright. I was just thinking about how Mona will react when we go out to eat later. I just want her to be happy. Why do you ask?”

  “No, it's nothing. It’s just that you seem a little out of it when we're studying together, so I was just wondering if something's wrong.”

  “No, nothing wrong.”

  “Oh, okay. That’s good. It's just that you're like a brother to me, so I noticed when you seem off, and it was like you were finally going back to the way you were a year ago, before your dad disappeared, so I didn’t want you to shut yourself out again.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m alright, I won’t go back to that depressing state I was in last year. Plus, everything is going well with Mona, and I don’t want her to be mad if she sees me like that again. So how about this, if you think I’m hiding something important, then slap me in the back of the head until I tell you.”

  With that response, Alicia cheered up, seeing that her friend was no longer in the depressed state he had been in a year ago.

  As she raised her hands in excitement, she said, “Yay! I finally have a reason slap you again. I won’t go easy on you, so you'd better not hide anything from the group. You know we all care about you and Mona a lot, so don’t hide anything from us.”

  “Hey, you could at least try to hide your excitement of wanting to hurt me.”

  “Alright, calm down. I was just joking. Oh, I forgot I have to go to the grocery store. My mom asked me to pick up some fruit, so this is where I’ll leave you.”

  “Before you go. You're still showing up to Mona's soccer game on Sunday, right? It would make her really happy if you showed up. Plus, she says that she is going to start this game, and she wants us to see her play.”

  “Yeah, I’m free, I'll go watch her play. It’s good that she’s finally doing something she likes.”

  “One more thing, can you ask your dad if he can come to my house tomorrow? There's something that I want to ask him, and the sooner the better.”

  “Sure. I’m pretty sure that we're doing nothing tomorrow, so he should have some free time to meet up with you.”

  “Alright, I'll see you later then.

  “Alright, I’ll see you later. Have fun and a nice dinner with Mona tonight.”

  As Shane saw Alicia run toward the nearest grocery store, he started walking toward Mona's school to pick her up while the Sun was still up.

  As Shane looked at the orange setting sun, he thought to himself, What is this power that father spoke of. Does it have to do with the sword training he made me do since I was five? I guess I’ll see if I can talk with Mr. Ravenscroft tomorrow to find out if he knows anything about what happened today. If any of what my dad has told me is true, I’ll have to make sure that Mona doesn’t get involved. She is still too young for any of this.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  By the time Shane's thoughts cleared, he heard children playing in the yard at Sunderland Elementary as he walked over to pick up Mona.

  As Shane looked up, he saw Mona, who was waiting near the front gate.

  “Hello Shane, you here to pick up Mona?”

  The voice came from Ms. Willow. She was Mona, an after-school teacher, and had been waiting for the last couple of kids to be picked up.

  “Yeah. I sign right here, right.”

  “Yes, I’ll go get Mona right now, and she seems quite excited today.”

  As Shane finished signing the paper to get Mona, he heard Ms. Willow shout, “Mona, get your stuff! Your brother is here to pick you up.”

  As Shane looked up, he saw Mona, who had a big smile plastered all over her face, running towards Shane. When she got to Shane, she gave him a big hug.

  “You're finally here, Shane. You took forever,” said Mona.

  Good, it looks like nothing happened to her. I’ll make sure to protect you, Mona. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you what happened today, thought Shane as he looked down at Mona.

  “Yeah. I’m here, so are you ready to go eat? I know you've been waiting all day to go to Starlight Diner.”

  As Shane and Mona started walking away from the front gate, they heard Ms. Willow say, “Have a good weekend and see you on Monday.”

  They looked back at Ms. Willow, waved, and headed toward the Starlight Diner for dinner.

  “So, Mona, did you apologize to your friends today?”

  “Yes, I did. It was a stupid argument, so apologizing for it was no big deal. What about you? Did you have a good time with your friends?”

  “Yeah, we got everything that we need to know down. So I believe that none of us will fail. I even believe Alicia might get a B on this exam.”

  “Oh, and did you get to spend some quality time with Elena when you two were studying?”

  As Mona looked up at her brother's face, she saw that he was bright red even at the slightest mention of Elena.

  “Oh, so you still have jokes in you, then what happened last week when you said you were too tired to finish your homework?” said Shane as he lightly pinched Mona on her cheeks.

  “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. Please stop!” Mona screamed in pain as she began to flail her arms in the air to slap away Shane's hand from her face.

  “Ok, you're lucky that we just arrived at the diner,” said Shane as he looked at the sign that read Starlight Diner.

  As they entered the diner, they caught the scent of burgers and fries, along with the sounds of lively conversation all around.

  The Starlight Diner was a place Shane and Mona went to every now and then because the food wasn’t too expensive, and they enjoyed the food there a lot because it reminded them of the happy times they'd spent with their dad.

  As they took their seat in a booth near a window, they looked over the menu to decide what to order.

  “What are you planning on ordering today, Mona?”

  “I think today I order a plain cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate milkshake.”

  “That sounds good. I’m planning on getting a bacon cheeseburger with fries and lemonade. You could also get dessert if you want to remember this is for getting good grades,” said Shane as he smiled at Mona.”

  ***

  An hour later, as they left Starlight Diner and started walking home, Shane noticed that Mona was tired to the point where it looked like she could fall asleep at any moment.

  “Hey Mona, can you stop for a bit. You seem like you're falling asleep. If you want, I could carry you on my back.”

  “Yes, please. I can feel my body falling asleep, so I don’t think I can make the rest of the fifteen-minute walk.”

  As Mona got on Shane's back, he made sure that she wouldn’t fall off while he was carrying her home.

  “You okay back there, Mona?”

  “Snore…”

  Shane knew that since Mona didn’t respond to his question, she was fully asleep.

  As Shane looked up at the moon with a face of satisfaction for being a good role model, he thought to himself, I hope that whatever it was dad was talking about doesn’t affect Mona. She deserves to live a normal life. Don’t worry, Mona, whatever it is that I have to do, I will always make sure that I protect you. Your big brother will always be here for you when you need him.

  As Shane finished thinking, he felt a sharp pain in his arm

  “Ow!” shouted Shane.

  Shane's arm felt as if it had been hit with a bolt of lightning.

  “Mona, did you feel anything?”

  “...”

  I guess she is still asleep. What was that just now? It felt like a bolt of lightning went across my right arm. Was that the power my father was telling me to awaken? If so, how did it activate for a moment? I really need to ask Alicia's dad tomorrow if he knows anything. Shane wondered what had caused the sudden pain in his right arm.

  As Shane looked up, he noticed that he was right in front of his house.

  As Shane entered his house, the first thing he did was put Mona on her bed to make sure she slept well. Then he went to his room so he could rest and talk to Mr. Ravenscroft in the morning.